19th Sunday after Pentecost 9/25/05 Text: Lord's Prayer Title: Why?
19th Sunday after Pentecost
Date: 9/25/2005
Text: Lord's Prayer
Title: Why?
My fellow missionaries please join me in prayer. Eternal God, pour out your Spirit upon us that we might be aware of your presence in our midst, that we might be attentive to your Word, and that we might be always faithful to your way, through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray. Amen
It has sure been an exciting and stressful 30 days hasn’t it? It was downright depressing to see trees on homes, maybe your own home had one or more trees fall on it, huge piles of debris, not running water, phones, electricity, cable, or internet, no reliable communications. It was bad, but we made it through it all.
Life was just starting to get back to being somewhat normal, and then comes along Rita and all its problems. There is no doubt that most of the population, especially those down on the coast, were doing some heavy duty praying the last couple of days.
We were all glad to see that God answered our prayers when Rita did not hit our coast line. We were glad, while at the same time we were probably feeling some what guilty because God answered our prayers, while he obviously did not answer the prayers of those where Rita came ashore. Our good fortune was their bad fortune, and that does not make us feel good, adding more stress to our already stressful lives.
Why did God answer our prayers, at least this time, and not the prayers of others? Does it mean that we prayed more, or better, or that God liked us better than those where the hurricane hit? In fact do our prayers, the prayers of God’s people really have any affect on the actions of God? Or is it just a coincidence when it appears that our prayers are answered?
When it comes right down to it, why would the God who created the universe even invite us to pray to him in the first place, he does not need us? Why would he even listen when we do pray to him, for what could he learn from us? Why would he even promise to answer us, for how in the world would we know what is best for us?
It is a dilemma, but if you have studied God’s Word even just a little bit you know that God invites us to pray and that he has a long history of hearing and answering prayers, even in those times, when at least from our perspective, the people that were praying to God least deserved it.
So instead of asking “Why”, maybe it would be better idea if we left the “why” to God, the all knowing God, the God that wants us to pray, who wants to respond to our prayers. Maybe we need to pray in a different way, to place our focus on God rather than self.
That brings me to what I want to talk to you about today, the Lord’s Prayer, what I would call the perfect prayer. While we pray for many things in the Lord’s Prayer, we are praying mainly that Satan’s wicked, hurtful schemes for people will self destruct and that God’s mercy, goodness, and care will come into every human heart and life. That is what God wants. That is his perfect will, and he lets us through our prayers participate in causing it to happen.
Some time ago I was reading a book written by Jane Fryer. The book is titled “I Believe but I Have Questions.” In her book she uses the acronym ACTS when she is writing about prayer. That particular acronym has helped me, and thousands of other Christians to keep the focus of our prayers on where it should be, God and his mighty acts. It is not the only way to pray, but I think you will find it helpful in organizing and balancing your prayers so that you can enjoy a better prayer life.
The first letter “A” is for adoration. We adore God for who he is, for who he is to us. We praise him for his power, his justice, and especially for his mercy and love for us through Jesus Christ our Savior.
Adoration helps our hearts to grow bold and confident. When we adore God we slap Satan and our sinful bodies in the face, scattering their temptations. For, we have a champion, one that has never known defeat, even when in the eyes of those who crucified him, he looked defeated.
I just want to share a little side note with you concerning the adoration of God. Adoration is not flattery. It is not telling God good things about himself, so that you get good things back. That is how we work, not how God works. It is simply showing God the heart felt adoration we have for him.
The second letter of the acronym ACTS is C. C stands for confession. Heart felt, repentant confession. The type of confession Isaiah shows when he cried out, after catching a glimpse of God’s majesty. “Woe to me!” he cried, “I am ruined!” You see, it was at that moment that Isaiah saw his sin as he had never seen it before. He saw the truth of his own guilt and the punishment he deserved.
Like Isaiah, we too need to make a confession of our sins; to show our true repentance, for it is only then that we can take away from Satan the two biggest things that he can accuse us of, “guilt” and “unworthiness”.
While “guilt” and “unworthiness” can cripple us, we need to realize that God does not care one bit about Satan’s accusations, his lies, and half-truths; for he knows that even in our sinfulness we are covered by the white robes of righteousness purchased for us by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Knowing that God welcome us in this way makes it possible for us to admit our failures, our sins to him. Confession stops Satan dead in his tracks.
The next letter of the acronym ACTS is T. T stands for thanksgiving. Thanksgiving, for all that God does in our lives. Thanksgiving keeps us focused on him, instead of ourselves and the problems of life, especially those problems we have absolutely no control over, like what will happen when a storm approaches, or any of the other things that we find to worry about. Thanksgiving helps us to keep our perspective, so that we can begin to see the big picture, instead of just focusing on the problems of today.
Praying prayers of thanksgiving does not mean we will never battle with the temptations of worry, fear, selfishness, or discouragement. But it does mean that after Satan has given us his best shot, we can come to God time and time again to confess our sins and to ask him for forgiveness.
The last letter of the acronym ACTS is S. S stands for supplication. Supplication comes from the root word supple which means that whatever or whoever is being talked about is capable of bending or folding without breaking or cracking. In our culture of independence the idea of a person bending before God’s will is almost abhorrent. You must stand up straight and tall, be your own person. My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, that is simply wrong thinking.
As God’s people though, we know, at least we should know, that by our bending to God’s will, God takes responsibility for seeing to it that the pressures and problems of life will not break us. No matter how heavy our load, our burdens will not crush us. Our God will do for us, what we cannot do for ourselves.
Prayer is not magical, or used to get God to bend to our will. Prayer bends us to his will. It changes us, for every time we pray using the acronym ACTS or something similar to it, we quit focusing on our self and more on God and what he has done and does for us, which is exactly what he wants us to do.
So when you see things happen, sometimes terrible things, things that make you want to ask the question “why”, don’t ask why, or even worry about why, just go to God in prayer. Pray to him in adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. Amen
Date: 9/25/2005
Text: Lord's Prayer
Title: Why?
My fellow missionaries please join me in prayer. Eternal God, pour out your Spirit upon us that we might be aware of your presence in our midst, that we might be attentive to your Word, and that we might be always faithful to your way, through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray. Amen
It has sure been an exciting and stressful 30 days hasn’t it? It was downright depressing to see trees on homes, maybe your own home had one or more trees fall on it, huge piles of debris, not running water, phones, electricity, cable, or internet, no reliable communications. It was bad, but we made it through it all.
Life was just starting to get back to being somewhat normal, and then comes along Rita and all its problems. There is no doubt that most of the population, especially those down on the coast, were doing some heavy duty praying the last couple of days.
We were all glad to see that God answered our prayers when Rita did not hit our coast line. We were glad, while at the same time we were probably feeling some what guilty because God answered our prayers, while he obviously did not answer the prayers of those where Rita came ashore. Our good fortune was their bad fortune, and that does not make us feel good, adding more stress to our already stressful lives.
Why did God answer our prayers, at least this time, and not the prayers of others? Does it mean that we prayed more, or better, or that God liked us better than those where the hurricane hit? In fact do our prayers, the prayers of God’s people really have any affect on the actions of God? Or is it just a coincidence when it appears that our prayers are answered?
When it comes right down to it, why would the God who created the universe even invite us to pray to him in the first place, he does not need us? Why would he even listen when we do pray to him, for what could he learn from us? Why would he even promise to answer us, for how in the world would we know what is best for us?
It is a dilemma, but if you have studied God’s Word even just a little bit you know that God invites us to pray and that he has a long history of hearing and answering prayers, even in those times, when at least from our perspective, the people that were praying to God least deserved it.
So instead of asking “Why”, maybe it would be better idea if we left the “why” to God, the all knowing God, the God that wants us to pray, who wants to respond to our prayers. Maybe we need to pray in a different way, to place our focus on God rather than self.
That brings me to what I want to talk to you about today, the Lord’s Prayer, what I would call the perfect prayer. While we pray for many things in the Lord’s Prayer, we are praying mainly that Satan’s wicked, hurtful schemes for people will self destruct and that God’s mercy, goodness, and care will come into every human heart and life. That is what God wants. That is his perfect will, and he lets us through our prayers participate in causing it to happen.
Some time ago I was reading a book written by Jane Fryer. The book is titled “I Believe but I Have Questions.” In her book she uses the acronym ACTS when she is writing about prayer. That particular acronym has helped me, and thousands of other Christians to keep the focus of our prayers on where it should be, God and his mighty acts. It is not the only way to pray, but I think you will find it helpful in organizing and balancing your prayers so that you can enjoy a better prayer life.
The first letter “A” is for adoration. We adore God for who he is, for who he is to us. We praise him for his power, his justice, and especially for his mercy and love for us through Jesus Christ our Savior.
Adoration helps our hearts to grow bold and confident. When we adore God we slap Satan and our sinful bodies in the face, scattering their temptations. For, we have a champion, one that has never known defeat, even when in the eyes of those who crucified him, he looked defeated.
I just want to share a little side note with you concerning the adoration of God. Adoration is not flattery. It is not telling God good things about himself, so that you get good things back. That is how we work, not how God works. It is simply showing God the heart felt adoration we have for him.
The second letter of the acronym ACTS is C. C stands for confession. Heart felt, repentant confession. The type of confession Isaiah shows when he cried out, after catching a glimpse of God’s majesty. “Woe to me!” he cried, “I am ruined!” You see, it was at that moment that Isaiah saw his sin as he had never seen it before. He saw the truth of his own guilt and the punishment he deserved.
Like Isaiah, we too need to make a confession of our sins; to show our true repentance, for it is only then that we can take away from Satan the two biggest things that he can accuse us of, “guilt” and “unworthiness”.
While “guilt” and “unworthiness” can cripple us, we need to realize that God does not care one bit about Satan’s accusations, his lies, and half-truths; for he knows that even in our sinfulness we are covered by the white robes of righteousness purchased for us by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Knowing that God welcome us in this way makes it possible for us to admit our failures, our sins to him. Confession stops Satan dead in his tracks.
The next letter of the acronym ACTS is T. T stands for thanksgiving. Thanksgiving, for all that God does in our lives. Thanksgiving keeps us focused on him, instead of ourselves and the problems of life, especially those problems we have absolutely no control over, like what will happen when a storm approaches, or any of the other things that we find to worry about. Thanksgiving helps us to keep our perspective, so that we can begin to see the big picture, instead of just focusing on the problems of today.
Praying prayers of thanksgiving does not mean we will never battle with the temptations of worry, fear, selfishness, or discouragement. But it does mean that after Satan has given us his best shot, we can come to God time and time again to confess our sins and to ask him for forgiveness.
The last letter of the acronym ACTS is S. S stands for supplication. Supplication comes from the root word supple which means that whatever or whoever is being talked about is capable of bending or folding without breaking or cracking. In our culture of independence the idea of a person bending before God’s will is almost abhorrent. You must stand up straight and tall, be your own person. My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, that is simply wrong thinking.
As God’s people though, we know, at least we should know, that by our bending to God’s will, God takes responsibility for seeing to it that the pressures and problems of life will not break us. No matter how heavy our load, our burdens will not crush us. Our God will do for us, what we cannot do for ourselves.
Prayer is not magical, or used to get God to bend to our will. Prayer bends us to his will. It changes us, for every time we pray using the acronym ACTS or something similar to it, we quit focusing on our self and more on God and what he has done and does for us, which is exactly what he wants us to do.
So when you see things happen, sometimes terrible things, things that make you want to ask the question “why”, don’t ask why, or even worry about why, just go to God in prayer. Pray to him in adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. Amen
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 1:28 PM
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